that the Browns put some of their record-setting draft capital to work by trading for a trio of veterans on Friday afternoon. In three separate deals, the Browns sent out

midround selections in the 2018 and 2019 drafts along with former starting quarterback DeShone Kizer for three veterans who should help the team win in the short term. It’s not

difficult to understand why the Browns made these trades, but it’s a sign that they’re stuck paying what amounts to a competitiveness tax.

In the case of their trades for Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Dolphins wideout Jarvis Landry, the Browns sent out draft picks to acquire a veteran they likely would not

Jarvis Landry has 400 catches and 22 touchdowns in four seasons in the NFL.

have been able to woo in free agency unless their markets totally failed to materialize. Buffalo and Miami had little leverage in making these deals, given that the Bills had no

realistic intentions of paying Taylor the $6 million roster bonus he was due on March 16. Buffalo might have publicly suggested it was willing to pay Taylor to keep its options

open, but outside of Nick Foles with the Rams in 2016, there’s virtually no track record of a team paying this sort of optional roster bonus for a player it didn’t plan to keep

in a meaningful role.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins might not have been able to afford the $16 million franchise tag Landry signed earlier this week. Landry reportedly had interest from the Ravens, but

given that Baltimore would have needed to totally restructure his deal, it’s unlikely the Dolphins would have been able to make a similar swap to the one they made here. And if

there weren’t any other trade suitors for Landry, he probably wouldn’t have signed the franchise tag. The most likely outcome for both Landry and Taylor this offseason was that

they were both going to hit free agency. Instead, they’re both Browns.

The returns here are hardly insignificant. The Browns sent the first pick of the third round to the Bills for Taylor, a selection which has delivered a pair of All-Pros in

Travis Kelce and Kevin Byard in recent years. That pick gives the Bills five of the top 65 selections in this year’s draft, and after trading their former starting signal-

caller, it seems incredibly likely that general manager Brandon Beane will move up to target his quarterback of the future early in the first round.

Trading up might also be easier if the Browns are out of the quarterback market. There was certainly scuttlebutt going around the NFL combine last week that Dorsey and the

Browns were not overly enthused with any of the passer options available in this year’s draft, although I’d be hesitant to buy into that, given how much more of the draft

process there is still to go and how wary teams are to play their hand with their interest in quarterbacks.

It seemed likely in December that the Browns and Giants would take quarterbacks with the first two selections in April, but that’s not clear anymore. At the very least, it seems

like there’s a chance that Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb are the first two picks of the draft. Suddenly, the Colts at No. 3 could be kingmakers with an entire quarterback

class still on the board, and the Bills have the assets to move up. If Buffalo packages its two first-round picks (Nos. 21 and 22), its own second-round pick (No. 53) and the

third-rounder it just got from the Browns, the Bills would amass 2,215 points of trade capital on the Jimmy Johnson chart. That’s nearly a perfect match for the third overall

pick, which is valued at 2,200 points.
Ironically for a team that is moving away from an analytics-driven approach, the quarterback the Browns have signed is one whose numbers often seem to deserve more praise from coaches and fans than he gets. Much of Taylor’s value comes out of his ability to avoid turnovers, a feat he accomplishes while serving as an effective runner and throwing downfield more frequently than his critics suggest. Consider that Kizer had 22 interceptions as the Browns’ starter last year; Taylor threw 16 picks over three seasons combined with the Bills.

At the same time, it would be foolish to stick Taylor in a traditional offense, drop him back from under center on most plays and hope that he turns into Troy Aikman. Coach Hue Jackson needs to keep Taylor in the shotgun and build his offense around the threat of Taylor as a runner, which Rick Dennison didn’t do in Buffalo last season. That should be just fine if the Browns draft Barkley; the Penn State star took 598 of his 671 carries out of the shotgun and averaged 5.8 yards per carry on those attempts. The potential first overall pick averaged 5.3 yards per carry on his 73 attempts from under center.

As a bridge quarterback, Taylor is a massive upgrade on AJ McCarron, who seemed like an obvious target in free agency after the Browns tried to trade for him last season. Taylor is under contract for $16 million in 2018 before his contract automatically voids, so this will likely be a one-year deal if the Browns draft a quarterback. If he succeeds, the Browns shouldn’t have much trouble signing the 28-year-old to an extension during the season.
The Browns should be more aggressive about pursuing an extension for Landry, although it will be difficult to find middle ground on a deal with the former Dolphins wideout given his present cap hit. As Jason Fitzgerald wrote before the trade, the $16 million franchise tag places the expected value of an extension for Landry somewhere in the ballpark of DeAndre Hopkins’ deal, which almost surely wouldn’t have been the case if Landry had just hit free agency without the tag.

At the same time, Landry is a player the Browns would likely have had no prayer of attracting on the free market without paying a significant premium over a team like the Ravens, so it wouldn’t have been a shock if Cleveland had given Landry a huge deal in free agency or if they give him a massive deal to stick around. The Browns did the same thing after going against type and trading a pick to the Patriots for Jamie Collins in 2016 before giving him an extension that paid him $37.5 million over its first three years, nearly $3 million more than any other inside linebacker in football.

Landry probably won’t be able to match the five-year, $82.5 million extension Mike Evans signed earlier on Friday, but his representation knows the Browns are going to be desperate to hold on to a player they hope will represent the new, competitive Browns. They could franchise Landry next year and pay him $19.2 million, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see a five-year, $75 million extension hit the books for Landry before the season begins.
The fit here is a little curious, if only because Landry is a slot receiver and the Browns actually had a few options to operate there in 2018. Duke Johnson has quietly become an effective weapon as both a runner and receiver, posting a positive DVOA in both categories last season. The 24-year-old might very well have served as a regular slot receiver for the Browns next season if they hadn’t traded for Landry. With Johnson entering the final year of his rookie deal, it seems possible that Cleveland might not keep the Miami product around after this season.
It’s also possible that 2016 first-round pick Corey Coleman might have ended up in the slot, given that the 5-foot-11 Coleman hasn’t yet emerged as a useful weapon on the outside. Injuries and poor quarterback play have unquestionably stunted Coleman’s growth, but this is also a receiver who has caught 56 of the 131 targets thrown his way over the past two seasons, producing a catch rate of just 42.7 percent. That’s the lowest rate in football among guys with 100 targets or more over that time frame. Dorsey has no ties to Coleman, and with Josh Gordon back in the lineup, this seems to push Coleman third (or fourth behind Johnson) in line for targets.

The Browns sent to the Dolphins the fourth-round pick they got from the Panthers in a long-ago swap of punters and a 2019 seventh-rounder. Mike Tannenbaum and the Dolphins have to be happy to come away with a meaningful return for Landry, given that they spent all of the season suggesting through the media that he wasn’t in their plans. Miami could theoretically have held on to Landry and picked up a third-round compensatory selection, but it’s not quite that simple. The Dolphins would have needed to sit out most of the free-agent period to avoid signing a player who would have canceled out the compensation for Landry, which isn’t exactly their style. I doubt Landry would have picked up a big enough deal to qualify for a third-round pick, which means Miami was likely looking at a fourth-round pick.
By making this trade, the Dolphins lock in a better fourth-round pick, get that selection a year earlier than they would through the comp market and can make moves in free agency without having to worry about impacting the compensatory formula. They still have to clear out more space — the Dolphins are $3 million over the cap even after trading away Landry — but this is a nifty sign-and-trade maneuver for a guy who wasn’t going to be on the Dolphins roster in 2018.

The third move of the bunch is my favorite for the Browns, although it comes with the most risk. It was only a year ago that Cleveland used the 52nd pick of the draft on Kizer, but Jackson’s bungling mismanagement of the former Notre Dame starter left Kizer entirely bereft of confidence. Few rookie quarterbacks are lame-duck starters by November of their debut seasons, but that was quite clearly the case with Kizer. As a backup behind Taylor and perhaps the No. 3 passer if the Browns draft someone this year, Kizer’s value wasn’t about to go up anytime soon.

Getting a viable starting defensive back on a rookie deal in Randall is a reasonable return for a quarterback who probably wasn’t going to take another snap in Cleveland. The former first-round pick never really seemed to settle as a slot cornerback in Green Bay, and it’s entirely possible the Browns move him back to free safety, which was ably occupied by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in Green Bay. That move would allow Jabrill Peppers to push back into the box, which would make two positions in the defensive backfield better for coordinator Gregg Williams. The Browns can pick up Randall’s fifth-year option and evaluate him in 2018 before deciding on a possible extension next offseason.
As for the Packers, Kizer offers them a backup for Aaron Rodgers with more upside than Brett Hundley, who failed his audition last season when Rodgers went down injured. Hundley’s contract is up after the year, while Kizer is under contract for three more seasons and should have time to develop behind the 34-year-old Rodgers. Kizer won’t be the long-term replacement for Rodgers barring some serious injury, but he could represent a cheap backup option with more upside in a West Coast scheme than Hundley.

The two teams also swapped fourth- and fifth-round picks as part of the deal, and while the Browns were picking first in each round, the deal doesn’t amount to a huge return for the Packers. By Chase Stuart’s draft chart, the trade value of the picks resolves down to the Packers’ gaining something close to the 188th pick, a selection in the middle of the sixth round.
The Browns still have the option of trading down from one of their two top-four picks, of course. Maybe they’ll take Barkley first and send the fourth pick off to a team who does believe in one of the quarterbacks, or deal the first pick to someone in love with Barkley and trust that they can find a similar running back later in the draft. Dorsey comes from the Ted Thompson tree in Green Bay, and both Thompson and his acolytes were historically aggressive in trading down to acquire extra picks as they entered new jobs.

Given the rapid-fire succession of trades we saw from Dorsey on Friday, though, it’s difficult not to see this as an inflection point for Cleveland’s team-building strategy. It has been popular (if not entirely accurate) to think of the Browns as the NFL equivalent of the Philadelphia 76ers, compiling draft pick after draft pick while failing to show any shred of competitiveness for a number of seasons.

Sixers fans have to be happy to have a team with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons right now, but architect Sam Hinkie wasn’t able to reap the benefits of his strategy, given that he resigned under pressure in April 2016. Likewise, Sashi Brown spent years losing and then turned over a clean cap and a historic amount of draft capital to Dorsey after being fired in December. The names have changed in Cleveland. Now, the plan is changing, too.

Redskins senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams said Wednesday that he doesn’t think they would try to tag Cousins for a third straight season. The idea, if they did, would be to then trade Cousins, hoping to get more than just the possible compensatory pick they would receive in 2019 if Cousins signs with another team.
The Redskins moved on from Cousins on Jan. 30 when they traded for Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith, a move the team can’t discuss until it becomes official on March 14. Multiple reports after the deal stated the Redskins would consider tagging Cousins.

Kirk Cousins has played under the franchise tag the past two seasons in Washington.

“I don’t think so,” Williams said of such a move. “But it’s not too late. But we haven’t really talked about that. The media had come up with those scenarios more than what we’ve talked about it because I can’t remember one meeting where we talked about the possibility of tagging him.”
Tagging Cousins would have been a risky endeavor. If he did not sign the franchise tender, the Redskins would be unable to trade him — and he would cost $34.5 million on the cap when free agency began. If he did sign the tender, he would let teams interested in trading for him know that he would not sign a long-term deal. That could block a deal, leaving him on the Redskins roster.

Though Williams couldn’t discuss Smith, he did respond to why the team opted not to try negotiating one more offseason with Cousins. The sides had discussed long-term deals each of the past two offseasons, though there was never much traction as both sides rejected overtures by the other.

Cousins, a fourth-round pick in 2012, started the last three seasons, twice setting franchise records for passing yards.
“Kirk has been here for six years and I’m sure there have been opportunities that deals could have been worked out,” Williams said. “It hasn’t worked out. As a team you’ve got to always put yourself in position where in case what might not happen. We can’t afford to let it come to the 12th hour and Kirk decide not to come back and leave us with the bag. We got to make decisions that are best for the organization and whatever decision we make or made, that’s what we’ve got to live with.”

The Redskins also didn’t want to have too much money tied up in one player — unless it was for a quarterback at the level of an Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. Smith, once he joins the Redskins, will count $17 million against the cap this season.

Cousins could end up as the highest-paid player once he signs in free agency, with an annual salary that might hit $30 million.

“It’s about winning,” Williams said. “The guy that played the Super Bowl and was the runner-up [Brady] makes about $15 million dollars, which is a lot of money. But you get to the point, it’s about the team. … When you got a team around you, you have to look at the team as a whole and find out how much it’s gonna take and what this is about, is this a team sport? I’m not saying giving a hometown discount or anything like that, but you’ve got to be real about the team, too. If you get all the money and you got nobody to play with, what good is playing?”

]]>http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?feed=rss2&p=2140Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Youth Jerseyshttp://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=210
http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=210#commentsWed, 07 Feb 2018 07:58:05 +0000http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=210[Read more...]]]>One of the biggest plays in Philadelphia sports history, the “Philly Special,” was dialed up by quarterback Nick Foles.
The Philadelphia Eagles were facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line late in the second quarter. A clip from Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” shows Foles going up to coach Doug Pederson on the sideline before the play, and saying, “Philly Philly?” Pederson stared back at him before finally replying, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Foles faked like he was calling an audible and center Jason Kelce sent a direct snap to rookie running back Corey Clement, who flipped it to tight end Trey Burton on a reverse. Foles darted out into the flat and Burton found him in the end zone, upping the Eagles’ lead to 22-12 at the half.

When quarterback Nick Foles suggested running the “Philly Special” during the Super Bowl, coach Doug Pederson pondered for a second before going with the trick play that resulted in a second-quarter touchdown.

“That was something we’d been working on, and Doug and I were talking — I was like, ‘Let’s just run it.’ And it was a good time,” said Foles, who was named the game’s MVP. “And the end was a little wider than I thought, so I really needed to sell like I’m not doing anything. And it worked — Burton made an amazing throw right on the money; I just looked it in. We worked on it for a while [in practice], so I was excited for it to get a run in the Super Bowl.”

They took the play from the Chicago Bears, who had run it against the Minnesota Vikings earlier in the season. According to offensive coordinator Frank Reich, they were considering using it versus Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game, but didn’t need to. So they broke it out on the game’s biggest stage — thanks to Foles’ suggestion.

]]>http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?feed=rss2&p=2100Cheap New England Patriots Throwback Jerseyshttp://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=208
http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=208#commentsThu, 01 Feb 2018 06:26:17 +0000http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=208[Read more...]]]>BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — New England Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft said in an interview with NFL Network that quarterback Tom Brady will be given latitude to decide when he retires.
Brady, 40, led the NFL with 4,577 passing yards this season.

“I think [he] has earned the right to have that be a decision he makes when he wants to make it,” Kraft told Andrea Kremer, when asked if he could envision a scenario in which he would have to tell Brady it’s time to retire.

Owner Robert Kraft added, “Our intent is we have the best people in their respective positions and we keep them here for a very long time.”
Asked what that latitude means to him, Brady responded with a touch of humor.

“Why does everyone want me to retire so bad? I’m having fun, the team is doing good,” he later told reporters. “I know I’m a little bit older than most of the guys, but I’m really enjoying it. I obviously enjoy the experience of playing in this game. This has been obviously a dream come true, many times over. We had a good practice today and we’re going to need a couple more good ones. We are playing against a good football team so I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m thinking about the Super Bowl and trying to win the most important game of the year and it’s going to take a lot to do it.

“I always wanted to play into my mid 40′s, so we will see. Football is such a physical sport and every game could be your last game, it’s the reality of the sport so I’d love to plan for those things. I try to work hard at the things I need to for my body to feel good week after week and year after year. I’ve got a good routine that has really worked for me especially the last 10-12 years. As long as I feel like I’m willing to make the commitment to do those things then I feel like my body will allow me to do that. So that’s what my goals are.”

Brady’s contract extends through the end of the 2019 season. He is on the verge of becoming the oldest non-kicker to play in a Super Bowl when the Patriots face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

]]>http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?feed=rss2&p=2080Cheap New York Giants Jerseys From Chinahttp://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=204
http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=204#commentsWed, 24 Jan 2018 06:45:53 +0000http://www.cheapjerseysnflsportsshop.com/?p=204[Read more...]]]>Pat Shurmur has his defensive coordinator and the New York Giants have the defensive help they’ve needed.

The Giants agreed to hire former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher late Tuesday night, a source told ESPN. Bettcher met with the Giants in Mobile, Alabama, on Tuesday afternoon, while he was in town for the Senior Bowl.

Bettcher also interviewed with and received an offer from the Tennessee Titans to be their defensive coordinator, the source said.

The 39-year-old Bettcher wasn’t retained by new Cardinals coach Steve Wilks, who was hired Monday.

Bettcher, who joined the Cardinals in 2013 as their outside linebackers coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2015 after Todd Bowles vacated the position to become the New York Jets’ head coach, has a track record of blitz-happy, solid run defenses.

That’s welcomed news for the Giants, who finished this season ranked 31st in yards allowed per game and passing yards per game, and 27th in rushing yards per game. The Giants were also ranked 31st in point differential per game and yard differential per game.

Bettcher led the Cardinals’ defense to a top-10 ranking in the past three years. The only other team to accomplish that feat was the Denver Broncos.

Under Bettcher, the Cardinals allowed the fewest yards per rush (3.67) and forced the most fumbles (60) since 2015, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They also had the seventh-most sacks during that stretch with 121, compared with the Giants, whose 85 were the fewest in the NFL.

Bettcher’s defenses blitzed at the second-highest rate in the NFL over the past three seasons. The Giants had the 17th-highest blitz rate over the span.

After starting the season 0-4, the Los Angeles Chargers got hot and finished the season 9-3 with the help of the veteran gunslinger and a resurgent defense.

Los Angeles fell just short of the playoffs, losing a Wild Card spot to the Tennessee Titans in the final week of the season. Previously, Los Angeles had a chance to take their division in a Week 15 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs but lost the game 30-13.. Should the Chargers have won the game, they would have taken the AFC West along with the Chiefs’ spot in the first round of the playoffs. This begs the question that if the Chargers had gone to the playoffs, would they have been able to matchup as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars? Would the Chargers be a bigger threat to the New England Patriots? Let’s find out.

In this scenario, the Jaguars help the Bolts out and get a win in Tennessee leading to the Chargers playing in Jacksonville for the second time in the year.

It looks promising for Philip Rivers and Co. as they hold a much more experienced playoff roster and they finished the season with momentum. With Anthony Lynn new to the playoffs, he doesn’t change the game plan much from their last matchup. Instead, the Chargers go into the game hoping Rivers can manage the game and clean up their mistakes from the last game. Rivers controls the game and manages to rely on Keenan Allen who has found success in his two career playoff games (8 receptions, 163 yards and 2 TDS).

The Chargers are much more explosive than the Buffalo Bills and take advantage of a young Jaguars team and subpar play from Blake Bortles. If they manage to prevent turning the ball over and avoiding long field goals, I see Los Angeles taking this game and advancing to play the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Against Pittsburgh, I firmly believe they can at least put up a big numbers and succeed against the aging Steelers defense who allowed 45 points to a much less talented Bortles. Rivers and Gordon take advantage and the defense prevents big plays as Los Angeles takes the place of Jacksonville in the upcoming game against the Patriots, a game that will be much more exciting than Bortles vs. Brady.

In turn, this game will jump start the conversation on Rivers’ status among the greats and a very possible chance of getting his first Super Bowl ring. This scenario also has a domino effect that might finally push the Jaguars to get rid of Blake and invest in a top free agent or in a new face overall.

That narrative followed the 38-year-old quarterback throughout the regular season. It’s a more refined eye has spotted some regression in Brees’ arm, and maybe a few of his deep passes aren’t coming out the way they did a couple of years ago.

But it is hard, if not impossible, to prove this argument with hard evidence if you look at the full scope of the New Orleans Saints’ march back to the playoffs this season.

It might be hard to believe, but Brees threw down the field this year the same way he did a season ago. He had some bad moments, just as he did a year ago when the Saints had a loaded cast of wide receivers, and he had some good moments. Statistically, Brees had almost the same season when throwing deep.

And recently, Brees has provided anecdotal evidence that veers toward the positive side.

The New Orleans quarterback hammered home the point during Sunday’s regular-season finale, a 31-24 loss at Tampa Bay, by going down the field a handful of times — including the out-and-up he threw to Alvin Kamara up the right sideline, right over Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David, while climbing the pocket for a gain of 40 yards. It wasn’t a rare moment. Brees has made those throws with some degree of regularity as the season has progressed.

There was the 54-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn the week before, and what should have been a 32-yard touchdown to Michael Thomas in the back of the end zone in Week 15 on what might have been Brees’ best throw of the season, but the wide receiver didn’t get his feet down in time.

Just a couple throws, right? No big deal. What about the ones he missed?

Well, the examples of success are plentiful. As plentiful, in fact, as they were a season ago.

Brees attempted 62 passes that traveled 20 or more yards through the air this season and connected on 30.

He attempted 63 such passes last year and connected on 31. Also, consider the quarterback threw 137 fewer passes this year than he did last season. In other words, the Saints were more likely to go for a deep pass this season than they were a year ago.

Brees’ deep completions number ranks third in the NFL, according to Sports Info Solutions. Seattle’s Russell Wilson and New England’s Tom Brady tie for the lead with 31 completions.

The difference, however, is that Wilson and Brady both needed more than 80 attempts to get there (Wilson had 88, Brady 80). In other words, Brees has not only been one of the league’s more prolific quarterbacks on passes traveling 20 or more yards down the field, but he’s also been one of its most efficient.

Optically, the narrative that Brees is struggling with the deep ball isn’t entirely unfounded.

The Saints have flat-out missed on some deep shots this season, like when Brees misjudged the angle of Ginn’s post route during the first game against Tampa Bay on Nov. 5.

Those two had some other issues early in the season when Ginn bailed out Brees by adjusting to make deep catches on misplaced passes against the Bears and Packers. But they seem to have largely ironed out those wrinkles.

Widening the scope: If there is anything to hammer Brees about, it would be for the team’s inability to achieve any consistency on third down. But it’s hard to pinpoint what degree of the blame falls on the quarterback.

If anything has changed within the offense, it’s that Brees is far less likely to attempt a pass traveling between 11 and 19 yards through the air.

New Orleans attempted 106 passes in this quadrant of the field last season, compared to just 63 this year, according to Sports Info Solutions. One reason for this might be that wide receiver Willie Snead (25 targets) and tight end Coby Fleener (17 targets) made their livings in this area of the field last season but haven’t been factors in the offense this year.

Another reason for this area evaporating a bit is the team became more dependent on its running backs. This is also the same reason that some people have been quick to conclude that Brees is in some sort of deep regression — even though he’s going deep the same way he did a year ago and set the NFL’s single-season mark for completion percentage.

He might have only passed for 4,334 yards and 23 touchdowns, but he also led the league in yards per attempt (8.1). Brees made the most of his opportunities all season. The fact that he didn’t have to pass for 5,000 yards and wasn’t constantly trying to lead drives to get back in games is a good thing for the Saints overall.

If regression does exist, it doesn’t appear to be deep or significant enough for panic. And the Saints are constructed for Brees to age gracefully within the system and take some pressure off him. That’s not a bad thing. It means he’s still the right guy for this team, should both sides agree to continue the relationship beyond this season.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAY

There were bigger, longer and more explosive plays this season. But regarding planning and scheming, the most interesting play of the year might have come during a 20-12 win over the Chicago Bears.

During that game, coach Sean Payton dusted off a call he’s used only four times during his decade-plus in New Orleans.

It looked simple enough. Brees lined up under center with Alvin Kamara and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui in a split backfield. The quarterback faked to Hoomanawanui and then looked Kamara’s direction. At this point, the tight ends are blocking as if the ball is going to the running back, causing Chicago to start to defend a screen. But Brees then pumps and tucks the ball.

The play looked busted. Tight end Josh Hill then sheds his block and slips up the seam on a delayed route for a gain of 19 yards.

It looked like a busted play. It wasn’t. New Orleans ran the same play for a 14-yard gain against the Dallas Cowboys in 2006 and to David Thomas for a gain of 25 against the New England Patriots in 2009.

Along the same lines, New Orleans ran a fullback option to Alvin Kamara on a fourth down against the Detroit Lions. The inspiration for that play came from back in 2003 when Payton was serving as Dallas’ offensive coordinator.
BEST EXPLOITATION

The Saints took note of how Atlanta defended a fade route to Michael Thomas in the teams’ first meeting Dec. 7 and then used it against the Falcons in the second meeting on Christmas Eve.

In the first game, New Orleans saw how the safety (blue circle) rotated over to double Thomas, leaving cornerback Desmond Trufant 1-on-1 on an in route (green circles below). Thomas still caught the pass for a long gain, but the Saints were most interested in the coverage.

New Orleans took advantage of this coverage in the second meeting. The Saints came out in the same look and baited the Falcons into defending it the same way. The only difference is Willie Snead ran the crossing route and Ted Ginn Jr. took Snead’s place. And instead of running an in route, Ginn cut up the field instead of going across it to take advantage of the single coverage. He easily scored.

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE YEAR

There’s really only one candidate here.

There were flashier or more memorable plays during the season. But there was only one that put the Saints on track for the rest of the season.

P.J. Williams’ interception against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 put New Orleans in control of that game. They then won eight in a row.

It was a good play, too. The cornerback sat back on an in route by Devin Funchess, jumped it, and pulled in the pass. New Orleans scored on the next possession to go up 14-6. It was an important moment because it turned Carolina a little more one-dimensional, and the Saints had struggled to stop the Panthers’ running game to that point.

Williams missed a meeting the next week while the team was in London to play the Dolphins, which allowed Ken Crawley to replace him as a starter. But Williams’ impact on the season is undeniable.
MOST VICIOUS DEFENSIVE PLAY

In Week 6 against the Lions, Cam Jordan used tackle Brian Mihalik’s body to sack quarterback Matthew Stafford. Jordan never even touched the quarterback. He just bull-rushed the tackle all the way back into the quarterback.

This actually happened.
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR

Dennis Allen is the obvious choice here. He might even be the NFL’s top assistant. If he doesn’t get a chance to interview as a head coach this year, he should get an opportunity next offseason if the defense continues to succeed.

But the choice here is offensive line coach Dan Roushar. He hasn’t had his intended starting five all season. First, he was without left tackle Terron Armstead, and then right tackle Zach Strief was out for the year.

It seemed like every week a new injury was popping up, and yet it never mattered. The group was ready to play every week and Brees never really seemed to sweat (though he did a good job of protecting himself by having a quick trigger). The quarterback was pressured only 109 times this season, the lowest mark in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

The coach deserves a ton of credit for keeping that group together despite difficult circumstances throughout the year.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

It would take hundreds of screenshots and videos to properly illustrate everything Alvin Kamara did this season. You just had to see it to believe it.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The defense transformed when Marshon Lattimore was drafted.

He immediately made the secondary the strength of the defense, which has allowed New Orleans to scheme around some injuries in the front seven without much attrition on that side of the ball.

New Orleans now has a player who can lock down his side of the field and shadow the opposition’s top receiver. Now, he just needs to keep it up throughout the postseason.
PLAYER MOST MISSED

The defense was fantastic this season in many games, especially considering where this group was last year.

But it was hard not to sit and wonder how the defensive front might have looked with Nick Fairley on the field. He wasn’t far behind Jordan last season in terms of impact, and another disruptive force on the defensive line might have put this group over the top.

Losing Alex Okafor, Kenny Vaccaro, Delvin Breaux and Alex Anzalone also hurt, but it’s hard to imagine anyone having the same kind of impact Fairley might have had on an improved front with a good secondary buying him extra time.

On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Giants couldn’t match Eagles backup Nick Foles and the NFC East leaders, losing 34-29.

In front of a “home crowd” that generated more noise for the visitors, the Giants blew an early 20-7 advantage and a 23-21 halftime lead en route to their 12th defeat of the season.

An Aldrick Rosas 48-yard field goal attempt that could have given the Giants the edge in the fourth quarter was blocked. The Eagles took over at their own 29, drove 60 yards and tacked on a Jake Elliott field goal to make it 34-29 with 3:56 remaining.

The Giants offense threatened to put together a game-winning drive, moving the ball into the red zone. But on fourth-and-goal from the 11, following a Bobby Hart false start penalty, Eli Manning’s pass for rookie tight end Evan Engram was broken up in the end zone.

Making his first start in place of Wentz, who suffered a torn left ACL last week, the 28-year-old Foles was impressive (24-of-38 for 237 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions), as Philadelphia improved to 12-2 and clinched a first-round bye.

Big Blue’s defense, which played much of the day without Landon Collins after he talked his way into the lineup, surrendered 341 total yards and didn’t force a turnover.

Playing in his 214th game as a Giant — two shy of tying the franchise record — Manning threw for a season-high 434 yards on 37-of-57 passing with three touchdowns and one pick.

Big Blue’s offense came out of the gates firing.

A 75-yard drive was capped by a short Orleans Darkwa touchdown run. It was the Giants’ first opening-drive TD of the season. Manning accounted for 71 of the 75 yards and was 7-for-9. But Rosas’ extra point was blocked, leaving it 6-0.

But the Eagles quickly answered. With help from a 32-yard pass interference penalty on Darian Thompson, they needed just seven plays to reach the end zone, scoring on a 3-yard Foles pass to Alshon Jeffery.

On the Giants’ ensuing possession, Manning followed up a big completion to Engram with a 13-yard touchdown to Tavarres King.

Following the first defensive stop of the day, the Giants got the ball back at the start of the second quarter and struck for the third time on a 67-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Sterling Shepard. The 23-year-old receiver, who finished with 11 catches for 139 yards, has scored in all four career games he has played against Philadelphia.

The Eagles had an opportunity to put the next points on the board, but failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Giants’ 44. Manning promptly was intercepted by Ronald Darby, who returned it 37 yards into the red zone. Foles soon connected with tight end Zach Ertz on a 10-yard TD to cut the Giants lead to 20-14.

Big Blue went three-and-out on their next drive and Brad Wing’s punt was blocked, setting up the Eagles in the red zone again. Foles took advantage with his third touchdown in the first half — a 13-yard hit to a wide open Trey Burton — to put the Eagles up 21-10.

But just before halftime, the Giants went 65 yards and Rosas tacked on a field goal to make it 23-21.

To begin the third quarter, it looked like Philly might run away with it. Elliott nailed a 28-yard field goal to cap off a 64-yard opening drive. When the Eagles got the ball back shortly after, Foles threw another touchdown — this one to Nelson Agholor — to make it 31-23.

Yet the Giants refused to go away. They responded with a 57-yard touchdown from Manning to King. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, leaving Big Blue down 31-29 entering the final quarter.

Before the season, Jim Bob Cooter boldly proclaimed the Detroit Lions’ ground game would be improved.

“I know we’re going to run the ball more efficiently,” Cooter said in August. “I’m very confident of that. At the end of the day, I feel confident I have improved and I am improving, and that’s part of the thing. Also, feel good about our players, how much they’re working at getting the nuts and bolts, getting the fundamentals down.”

OK, maybe it wasn’t that bold, since it’s been forever and a day since that component of the team’s offense has been up to snuff. Not being bottom-10 would have been welcomed improvement. Still, it was easy to buy what the young offensive coordinator was selling, for a number of reasons.

First, Cooter’s honest self-assessment that his understanding of run offense was underdeveloped and his clear commitment to bridging that knowledge deficiency during the offseason. Ask those who’ve spent time working with him and they’ll rave about his ability to solve puzzles in the film room. Just knowing the issue had his attention bred easy optimism for progress.

Second, hope came in the form of the personnel. Running backs Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick, while neither a wrecking ball workhorse primed to lead the league in rushing, looked to be a formidable dual-threat tandem the previous year, before injuries quickly derailed the promising potential of both.

Everything was in place for marked improvement. Yet 11 games in, things have somehow regressed.

Last year, the Lions averaged 3.7 yards per carry and 81.9 yards per game. This season, that’s down to 3.4 yards per carry and 78.3 yards per game. Both rank 30th in the league.

As for the efficiency Cooter anticipated, the only thing the Lions have done consistently is get stuffed. This deep into the season and 31 percent of the team’s running plays are being stopped for no gain or a loss of yardage. That’s the worst rate in 12 years.

Asked to assess his role, as a play-caller, in those failures, Cooter shouldered the blame.

“Yeah, not good enough,” he said. “I need to improve. Our guys are working really, really hard. At the end of the day, it falls on my shoulders to improve every asset, every facet, of our offense. The run game is a major part of that thing and I’ve got to do a better job.”

Many fans complain that Detroit’s run calls are predictable, but that’s because teams run the ball in predictable situations. You run more frequently on 1st-and-10 early in the games, or when they’re leading late. You run when it’s 2nd-and-manageable and 3rd-and-short. You run when the defense only puts six defenders in the box, which many opponents do against the Lions.

Predictability is less of an issue than execution. The Lions struggle so much, especially on those early downs, that they actually run less, by percentage, than any team in the first half of games.

And here’s the thing: The NFL has undeniably morphed into a passing league. You’re not going to consistently win without quality quarterback play. Yet running the ball remains the heartbeat of success.

Look at the leaderboard and you’ll find it crowded with the division leaders. Jacksonville, Philadelphia and New Orleans — with a combined record of 25-8 — top the charts. Seven of the top 10 teams would make the playoffs if the season ended today. The bottom 13 teams would not.

Forget that Detroit has lacked a 100-yard rusher for more than four years. Sure, that’s eye-catching, but not nearly as troublesome as the fact they’ve topped 100 yards AS A TEAM twice this season, a year after accomplishing it just three times.

From an efficiency standpoint, the Lions offense manages to hover near the middle of the pack, thanks to the passing game. We are left to imagine the potential with a run game that was league average.

“When you have to sort of punch one-handed, you don’t have both hands available to you, that makes it difficult,” Cooter said. “You can win ballgames, but you can’t be a really good NFL offense without being able to do multiple things well.

“So, it’s something that I really want to improve, we really want to improve, but we have not done that around here,” Cooter said. “I’d like to be better and it starts with me, it falls on my shoulders.”

Cooter has to keep hammering away because he has no choice. This isn’t college, where you can spread it out and throw 50-60 times per game. NFL defenders are too athletic, the passing lanes will be easily clogged and your quarterback would take far too many hits.

If you’re looking for reasons for optimism, at least down the stretch this season, sorry, we’ve got nothing. Drastic changes are going to need to be considered in the offseason — whether it’s a schematic overhaul, the addition of a run-game coordinator, or going all in on a star running back early in the draft or free agency.

It’s time to revamp the total package. As long as the Lions remain one of the league’s worst rushing teams, a first-round playoff exit might be the best this franchise can do.

• With the win, New Orleans moves to 8-2, its first eight-game winning streak since an eight-game winning streak to close out the 2011 regular season. At 8-2, the Saints have exceeded their win totals for each of the last three seasons and stand one full game ahead of the 7-3 Carolina Panthers in the NFC South division.

• With the win, New Orleans’ improves its all-time record against Washington to 9-17. It was the Saints’ first win against Washington since a 33-30 overtime victory at Fed-Ex Field on Dec. 6, 2009 and their first win against Washington in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome since a 20-3 victory on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 23, 1992.

• The Saints now own a 13-15 record in overtime in the regular season with an additional overtime win in the 2009 NFC Championship Game vs. Minnesota. It was their first overtime victory since a 26-20 win over Dallas on Oct. 4, 2015 and their first overtime contest since a 34-28 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 8, 2015.

• The comeback from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter marked the first time the Saints have ever won a game in franchise history when they trailed by 15 or more points at any point in the fourth quarter.

•The Saints take on the Los Angeles Rams for a week 12 matchup on Nov. 26 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CST. The game will be aired on CBS (WWL-4 in the New Orleans area).

•The Saints currently have a streak of 250 games without having been shut out, dating back to a 26-20 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 6, 2002 at Raymond James Stadium, the longest running streak in the National Football League.

• New Orleans outgained Washington in total net yardage 535-456.

• New Orleans outrushed Washington 160-156.

• New Orleans outgained Washington in net passing yardage 375-300.

• Coach Sean Payton has 108 career victories (regular season and postseason) after Sunday’s victory, he moved into sole possession of 40th place all-time in NFL record books for victories past Buddy Parker.

• QB Drew Brees appeared in his 243rd career contest moving him past Dan Marino into seventh place all-time in games played by a quarterback. Brees also started his 184th career game as a Saint, moving into sole possession of fifth place on the club’s all-time games played list past DL Jim Wilks. Brees completed 29-of-41 passes (70.7 percent) for season-high 385 yards and a 106.2 passer rating. Brees recorded his 400th career touchdown as a Saint as he joins the company of Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady and Dan Marino as only the fifth quarterback to have 400 touchdown passes with a single team.

• It was the 37th career fourth quarter/overtime game-winning drive by Brees. In New Orleans’ final two series’ of regulation, where he helped the Saints offense produce 15 points, he completed 10-of-10 passes for 146 yards with both of his touchdown throws.

• It was Brees’ 109th career 300-yard passing game and 57th career 350-yard passing game, both NFL records.

• RB Mark Ingram led the Saints in rushing with 11 carries for a season-high 134 yards with one touchdown. Ingram recorded the longest run of the game with a 36-yard touchdown run, moving him into sole possession of second place on the club’s all-time rushing touchdowns list passing RB Dalton Hilliard. Ingram also surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards becoming only the second Saint to do so, joining RB Deuce McAllister. It was Ingram’s 13th career 100-yard rushing game, as he moved past RB Ricky Williams to move into sole possession of third place all-time in club record books for 100-yard rushing games. With four, 100-yard rushing games in 2017, Ingram is tied with the 2014 season for the most by him in club record books. Ingram also added three catches for 21 yards for a game-high 155 total yards from scrimmage.

• RB Alvin Kamara has now recorded a touchdown in his last four games. Kamara finished with eight carries for 42 yards. He also reeled in six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. With the receiving touchdown, he tied WR Donte’ Stallworth in becoming the second Saints rookie to score a touchdown in four straight games as a rookie. Stallworth did so in the first four games of 2002.

• TE Coby Fleener recorded five catches for 91 yards and the Saints longest reception, hauling in a 29-yard catch. Fleener now has surpassed 3,000 career receiving yards with a total of 3,072.

• TE Josh Hill recorded the first receiving touchdown for the Saints and his first touchdown of the season, reeling in a three-yard touchdown pass from Brees.

• WR Michael Thomas finished with six catches for 91 yards.

• WR Tommylee Lewis recorded two punt returns for a total of 38 yards, including a 23-yard runback.

• WR Ted Ginn Jr. recorded six catches for 87 yards.

• DE Alex Okafor led the defensive line with six total tackles.

• DE Cameron Jordan played in his 106th consecutive game and overall, putting him in a tie for 40th place on the club’s all-time games played list with DE Joe Johnson and G Jake Kupp. Jordan finished with four tackles and a sack. With eight sacks on the season, he becomes the only Saints to have at least 7.5 quarterback takedowns in six consecutive seasons, surpassing LB Rickey Jackson, who did so in five consecutive seasons from 1983-87.